What Is a Good ACT Score

By Muntasir Jul 14, 2026 5 min read

TL;DR

A good ACT score sits above the national average composite of 19.2, on ACT's 1-36 scale. Scores of 23 and up rank in roughly the top 25% of test takers nationally, and scores of 28 and up rank in the top 10%. The most selective colleges, including Ivy League schools, commonly look for composites in the 33-36 range. ACT computes the composite as the average of your English, Math, and Reading scores, rounded to a whole number. Science is now a separate, optional score and does not count toward the composite.

Colleges never see a single ACT cutoff labeled good. ACT reports your composite on a 1-36 scale and shows where it lands against other test takers, without attaching a quality label to any number. This guide sets practical targets using the national average, common test-prep score bands, and the ranges selective colleges tend to expect.

Below, you get the current national average, a breakdown of score bands from average to elite, section-by-section goals, and college selectivity benchmarks. Each figure is linked to its source, official ACT data where it exists and named test-prep sources where ACT does not publish a figure itself.

National Average ACT Score

The national average ACT composite is 19.2, based on ACT-tested high school graduates from the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025. ACT uses this figure for the 2025-26 testing cycle, covering tests taken from September 2025 through August 2026. Your composite score sits somewhere on a whole-number scale from 1 to 36.

The table below places a couple of benchmark composite scores against the national average, using ACT's own percentile data for this cycle.

Composite score	Where it sits
19	57th percentile, slightly below the 19.2 average
20	63rd percentile, slightly above the average

ACT Score Bands: From Average to Elite

ACT does not publish quality labels for composite scores. The composite ranges below come from Kaplan Test Prep's ACT score benchmarks, and they line up with the national percentile data ACT does publish. The band names in the first column are ours, not Kaplan's: Kaplan calls the 23-27 range "Competitive ACT Score Ranges" and the 28-36 range "Best ACT Scores".

Band	Composite range	National standing
Below average	1-18	Below the 19.2 national average
Good	19-22	Around the 19.2 national average
Excellent	23-27	Top 25% of test takers nationally
Elite	28-36	Top 10% of test takers nationally

Why These Labels Are Not Official

No page on ACT.org sorts composite scores into named bands. The ranges above are a test-prep convention and the labels attached to them are ours, so colleges do not reference either directly. Each school sets its own bar based on the students it admits each year.

Section-Level Score Goals

Your composite is not a section score. ACT builds it by averaging your English, Math, and Reading scores and rounding to the nearest whole number. Since the 2025-26 cycle, Science stopped counting toward the composite: it is now optional and reported as a standalone score plus a STEM score paired with Math.

Each of the three composite sections, English, Math, and Reading, uses the same 1-36 scale as the composite itself. The optional Writing test scores 2-12, as a rounded average of four domain scores, and does not factor into the composite.

The table below lists the section and composite scores ACT reports and whether each one feeds the composite. ACT also reports a STEM score combining your Math and Science results, and it sits outside the composite.

Score	Scale	Counts toward composite
English	1-36	Yes
Math	1-36	Yes
Reading	1-36	Yes
Composite	1-36	Average of the three sections above
Science (optional)	1-36	No, standalone score
Writing (optional)	2-12	No

Setting Your Own Section Targets

Since composite equals the average of three sections, matching your target composite in each section is a solid default plan. A student aiming for a 24 composite benefits from scoring near 24 in English, Math, and Reading individually, rather than carrying one weak section on strong scores elsewhere. Run a practice test and check your English, Math, and Reading scores individually against your target using our free ACT score calculator, no signup required.

Score Needs By College Selectivity Tier

ACT does not publish minimum composite scores per college. The ranges below come from Kaplan Test Prep's analysis of selective-college admissions data and shift somewhat year to year, so treat them as a starting benchmark, not a guarantee. Scholarship dollars often follow these same tiers, so see our guide to ACT scores for scholarships for your range.

Selectivity tier	Typical composite	Example schools
Ivy League and most selective national universities	33-36	Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, MIT
Top liberal arts colleges	33-35	Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore

Individual schools publish their own admitted-student score ranges in each year's Common Data Set. Check your target school's official admissions page directly for the current range, then compare it against the composite you are working toward using our composite score walkthrough or our score calculator.

How Your Score Compares Nationally

ACT converts every composite into a national percentile rank each cycle. The table below shows reference points from the 2025-26 percentile table.

Composite score	National percentile
36	100th
33	98th
30	94th
27	88th
24	80th
21	68th
19	57th
15	34th

See our full ACT percentile table for every score from 1 to 36, plus what each percentile means for your rank against other test takers. For a wider look at test structure, sections, and timing, start with our ACT overview page.